Tribune-Review named state's best daily in statewide competition

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Freshman Lamont Wade, 14, crouches on the Bears' home field as Monessen celebrates its win in the end zone behind him Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 in Clairton. Wade's family connection to the school stretches to the 1940s, with his grandfather, uncles and cousins all playing for the Bears over the decades. The scoreboard at the end of the game read Home 24, Visitor 42, as coach Tom Nola gathered the Bears in its glow to pray together.

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Traveling by Jeep, boat and foot, Tribune-Review investigative reporter Carl Prine and photojournalist Justin Merriman covered nearly 2,000 miles over two months along the border with Mexico to report on coyotes — the human traffickers who bring illegal immigrants into the United States. Most are Americans working for money and/or drugs. This series reports how their operations have a major impact on life for residents and the environment along the border — and beyond.

The Tribune-Review won the top award in an annual competition sponsored by the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, which also chose it as Pennsylvania's best daily newspaper.

Trib Total Media staffers won five first-place awards and several other honors in a separate competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Women's Press Association.

The SPJ Spotlight Award, announced on Friday, went to “Donor dilemma,” an investigation by Trib reporters Luis Fábregas and Andrew Conte that revealed the multi-million dollar profits and questionable behind-the-scenes practices in the national organ donation system. The prize, which the organization calls its most prestigious award, goes to an investigative story or series that scooped other media and placed the public's right to know in the public spotlight.

“Donor Dilemma” also won first-place awards in the business-labor and health-medical categories in competition among daily newspapers. Judges in the business competition said it was “a classic example of the kind of public watchdog reporting that this country needs more of as newspapers struggle to compete in the new digitally driven marketplace. Bravo!”

Judges in the SPJ contest named the Tribune-Review the best daily newspaper in the state, calling it “a substantial, well-rounded print edition with many features relevant and important to the community.” They cited a “sophisticated and reader friendly” layout and a “great, engaging” sports section.

Trib staffers placed first and second in four SPJ categories: spot news reporting, sports reporting, photo story and web use.

Tribune-Review winners in the SPJ contest competition for dailies:

Spot news story: Tribune-Review Staff, first place for “Baffling behavior,” about former Pittsburgh police chief Nate Harper being indicted and announcing his resignation, and second place for “Flash floods wash out region.”

Sports reporting: John Harris, first place for “Declining diversity,” about the falling number of African Americans in Major League Baseball; Ralph N. Paulk, second place for “ ‘Fiscal cliff' deal steers big breaks to NASCAR.”

Photo story: Stephanie Strasburg, first place, “End of a record-setting streak,” about the Clairton High School football team losing a game for the first time since September 2009; Sean Stipp, second place, “Bridge Day.”

Web use: Stephanie Strasburg, first place, “End of the streak,” about the Clairton High School football team losing for the first time in four years; Melanie Wass, David Conti and Lisa Fuqua, second place for “The news jolted you where?” about the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination.

Tabloid page design: Melanie Wass, second place, “And Now There Are 2,” a sports section cover before the NCAA basketball championship game. Wass received an honorable mention for “82,” a sports cover about the Pirates clinching a winning season.

Editorial writing: Alan Wallace, second place for a collection of work.

Three photographers at the Valley News Dispatch of Tarentum, one of Trib Total Media's other daily newspapers, were honored for their work. Jason Bridge won first place in feature photography among all dailies for “A higher calling.” Erica Hilliard Dietz won third place in feature photography for “Fun in the sun” and third place in sports photography for “Showdown set.” Eric Felack won third place in news photography for “Tragedy averted.”

In competition among non-daily newspapers, SPJ awards went to these Trib Total Media staffers:

Feature photography: Kristina Serafini of the Sewickley Herald, first place, “Back to school.”

Enterprise reporting: Daveen Rae Kurutz, Murrysville Star, second place for “Holding their breath.”

News photography: Lillian DeDomenic, second place for “CANorah Lighting” in the Times Express of Monroeville and third place for “Game face” in the Murrysville Star.

Photo story, non-daily: Lillian DeDomenic and Alisa Jacobson, second place for “Gladiator Rock 'n Run” in the Murrysville Star; and Kristina Serafini of the Sewickley Herald, third place for “Success already.”

In the student competition, Emily Balser of Point Park News Service won first place for a collection of work, including “Bob's Garage not just about the decorations,” which was published in the Trib. Megan Guza, a reporter for Trib Total Media's Bridgeville Area News and The Signal-Item and a graduate student at Point Park University, won second place for a series about rural domestic violence. She wrote the articles for Point Park News Service.

Awards in both contests will be presented next month in State College.

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